Tony Walton

Production designer, Costume designer, Director

This noted British designer began his career at age 22 with the 1957 Broadway production of Noel Coward's "Conversation Piece. " Walton alternated between designing for the London and New York stage throughout the late ... Read more »

This noted British designer began his career at age 22 with the 1957 Broadway production of Noel Coward's "Conversation Piece. " Walton alternated between designing for the London and New York stage throughout the late 1950s and early 60s. He entered films as costume designer and visual consultant on Disney's "Mary Poppins" (1964) which starred his then-wife Julie Andrews. His eye-popping, late Edwardian costumes for this landmark film that included a mix of animation and live-action earned him the first of five Oscar nominations. He went on to create the futuristic world of "Fahrenheit 451" (1966) and the Roaring Twenties look of Ken Russell's backstage musical version of "The Boy Friend" (1971). "The Sea Gull" (1968), with its 19th Century Russian settings, marked the first of seven screen collaborations with Sidney Lumet. Walton went on to earn Oscar nominations for his elegant costumes for the director's "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974) and for both sets and costumes for Lumet's misguided "The Wiz" (1978). Walton finally shared a statuette (with Philip Rosenberg) for Bob Fosse's superb "All That Jazz" (1979), which required the creation of not only contemporary Manhattan settings, but also elaborate fantasy and flashback sequences, most notably a hospital setting.